Time instrument



i March 31, 193e. S M KEERON 2,036,050

TIME INSTRUMENT l Filed Jan. 7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 31, 1936., s M, KENERSON 2,036,050

TIME INSTRUMENT Filed Jan. 7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 31, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE signor to The Standard Electric Time Company, Springfield, Mass., a corporation Application January 7, 1935, Serial No. 689

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in time instruments, and more particularly to speed-reduction gearing, primarily for use in time instruments.

5 One object of this invention is to provide an improved speed-reduction gearing formed of simple elements readily manufactured and readily assembled, to produce an eiiicient, quiet construction.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention includes all improvements over the prior art which are disclosed in this application.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one way of carrying out the invention is shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of an impulse-clock movement made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view .on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, illustrating an improved speed-reduction gearing made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the central portion of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 of the speedreduction gearing, with parts of the latter in different cooperative position; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

In the description and claims, the various parts are identified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their application as the prior art will permit.

In the particular construction herein disclosed and which is more fully described in my co- 5 pending application, Serial No. 690, filed January 7, 1935, front and rear movement-plates I and I I are secured together in spaced relation by four pillars I2. The front movement-plate Il) has a recess I3 and a wall-portion I4, having an aperture I in which is rotatably mounted a timeor hour-sleeve I6. A timeor minute-arbor or shaft I8 is rotatably supported in the hour-sleeve I6 and in an aperture I'I ln the rear movementplate II. The minute-shaft or arbor I8 is given a step-by-step rotational movement by the 'ratchet-Wheel construction I 8a actuated by the pawls I9 and 20, which are pivotally connected to the arm 2I which, in turn, is xedly secured on the pawl-shaft 22, the pawl-shaft 22 being given 50 an oscillating movement by means of the armature 23, oscillated in one direction by the poles 24 and 25 of the electromagnet26, and oscillated in the opposite direction by the spring 21 acting upon one end of the limit-bar 28.

The speed-reduction gearing or dial-work includes a large or outer gear 29 xedly secured to the hour-sleeve I6 and has a recess 30 and inwardly-directed or internal gear-teeth 3l, the number of which, in the form of the invention illustrated, is twelve. outwardly-directed teeth 33, adapted to mesh with the teeth 3| of the outer gear.

A central, cylindrical opening 34 in the ringgear 32 is rotatably engaged by the cylindrical surface 35 of the eccentric 36, which latter is xedly secured on the reduced portion 31 of the minute-shaft I8 and against the shoulder 38 formed by the enlarged portion 39 of the minuteshaft I8. The annular ange 40 of the eccentric engages against the ring-gear 32 and holds it in position in the recess 30 in the outer gear.

A feather or spline-like member 4I is secured by screws 42 to the ring-gear 32, and has a iinger or spline-portion 43 which slidably engages in a slot 44 in the portion 45 of the front movementplate I5) bordering the recess I3. The minutearbor or shaft I3 may have secured thereto a minute-hand 46 and the hour-sleeve I6 may have an hour-hand 41 secured thereto and which, of course, will rotate at one-twelfth the speed of the minute-hand 46. This will be accomplished by the construction illustrated in the drawings, inasmuch as the relation of the two gears is as of eleven teeth to twelve, and when the timeshaft or minute-shaft I8 makes one revolution, and moves from its lowermost position shown in Fig. 4, the eccentric 36 will cause the ring-gear 32 to move to the right and up to its topmost position shown in Fig. 5, and then move to the left and down to its original position shown in Fig. 4, in the meantime causing successive engagement of the teeth of the two gears in a manner that will be readily appreciated, and thus advancing the large outer gear a distance of one tooth or one-twelfth of a revolution, thus giving the houror time-sleeve I6 a rotational speed one-twelfth that of the timeor minute-arbor I8. The finger or spline-portion 43 by slidably engaging in the slot 44, permits the ring-gear to be moved bodily by the eccentric, but prevents f the ring-gear from having a true rotary motion inasmuch as the lower portion of the ring-gear has substantially only an up-and-down sliding action.

The invention may be carried out in other A ring-gear 32 has eleven changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A time instrument construction including: a supporting-structure provided with a slot; a time-sleeve rotatably supported by said supporting-structure; a time-shaft concentric with and rotatable relatively to said time-sleeve; an outer gear ixedly secured to said time-sleeve and having internal gear-teeth; an eccentric xedly secured to said time-shaft; a ring-gear rotatably mounted on said eccentric and having gear-teeth around its periphery of lesser number than the number of gear-teeth of said outer gear and adapted to mesh With the teeth of said outer gear; and a nger secured to said ring-gear and slidably engaging in said slot of said supporting-structure and adapted to permit the ringgear to be moved bodily by said eccentric but to prevent the ring-gear from rotating.

2. A time instrument construction including: a supporting-structure including a Wall provided with a recess, and a slot intersecting said recess; a time-sleeve rotatably supported by the recessed portion of said wall; a time-shaft concentric with and rotatable relatively to said timesleeve; an outer gear in said recess and xedly secured to said time-sleeve and having a gear recess and internal gear-teeth; an eccentric xedly secured to said time-shaft; a ring-gear in said gear recess and rotatably mounted on said eccentric and having gear-teeth around its periphery of lesser number than the number of gear-teeth of said outer gear and adapted t0 mesh with the teeth of said outer gear, said eccentric having a flange holding said ring-gear in said recess; and a finger secured to said ringgear and slidably engaging in said slot of said Wall and adapted to permit the ring-gear to be moved bodily by said eccentric but to prevent the ring-gear from rotating.

3. A time instrument construction including: a supporting-structure including a wall having a recess; a time-sleeve rotatably supported by the recessed portion of said Wall; a time-shaft concentric With and rotatable relatively to said time-sleeve; an outer gear in said Wall recess and lxedly secured to said time-sleeve and Vhaving a gear-recess and internal gear-teeth; an eccentric xedly secured to said time-shaft; a ringgear in said gear-recess and rotatably mounted on said eccentric and having gear-teeth around its periphery of lesser number than the number of gear-teeth of said outer gear and adapted to mesh With the teeth of said outer gear; Vand means interconnecting said ring-gear and said supporting-structure and adapted to permit the ring-gear .to be moved bodily by said eccentric but to prevent the ring-gear from rotating.

4. A time instrument construction including: a supporting-structure including a Wall having a recess; a time-sleeve rotatably supported by the recessed portion of said Wall; a time-shaft concentric with and rotatable relatively to said v time-Sleeve; an outer gear in said Wall recess and xedly secured to said time-sleeve and having a gear-recess and internal gear-teeth; an eccentric iixedly secured to said time-shaft; a ring-gear in said gear-recess and rotatably mounted on said eccentric and having gearteeth around its periphery of lesser number than the number of gear-teeth of said outer gear and adapted to mesh With the teeth of said outer gcar, said eccentric having a flange holding said ring-gear in said gear-recess; and means secured to said ring-gear and slidably engaging said supporting-structure and adapted to permit the ring-gear to be moved bodily by said eccentric but to prevent the ring-gear from rotating.

, STANLEY MARSH KENERSON. 

